


The Oak Rooms

by Consuela_Banana



Category: Carol (2015) RPF, The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Developing Relationship, F/F, Gay Character, Lesbian Character, Love, Relationship(s), Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 16:54:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8217784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Consuela_Banana/pseuds/Consuela_Banana
Summary: Set continuing on from the ending of the 'Carol' movie, this is a very short story which sees what happens next between Carol Aird and Therese Belivet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first effort, so go easy on me! :)

The Oak Rooms

Carol gazed back at Therese across the bustling dining room, hardly letting herself believe she had changed her mind. There she was; accepting, allowing herself to come back into Carol’s life. The diners around them would not realise that what was taking place between the two was an agreement, an understanding; both people allowing themselves to follow their heart’s desires in spite of everything.

After the bill was settled, the party said their goodbyes. Therese had been polite company at dinner yet quiet, reserved. Therese had wished dinner had concluded at the earliest opportunity so she could be alone with Carol, to pick up where they’d left off earlier in the evening. Therese had always dared to dream that Carol was in love with her, and although Carol’s letter two months earlier had crushed her so bitterly, Carol’s motives were driven by love. Love for Rindy, love for Therese. But upon hearing those words tumble from Carol’s mouth, three simple words, Therese had stopped daring to dream, and now she wanted to grasp the reality. Carol’s acquaintances bade their farewells, turned on their heels and motioned for a taxi as they headed down West 58th, not realising their departure signalled the beginning of a new chapter for the two women now stood opposite one another outside the Oak Rooms.

The slight chill in the hair blew Carol’s blonde hair, curled at one side. The hurly-burly of Friday night in Manhattan now was simply a low murmur, a background noise that proved no distraction. Couples went in and out of the restaurant as the pair stood opposite one another on the sidewalk, neither quite sure who would speak first.

“Thank goodness that’s over” Carol exhaled, her nervous breath clear in the crisp night sky, and her eyes moving away from Therese’s gaze down to the ground, “I thought that would go on all night.”

Therese continued to direct her stare at Carol, though their eyes were not meeting. Despite her gaze fixated on Carol, Therese did not speak. Carol adjusted her red woollen coat for extra warmth and looked back up.

“Shall we go?”

Therese had no idea where they would go. She had no idea where they would go, what they would talk about, where they would start. She had so much she wanted to say, but how she would even begin, given everything? Therese composed herself to affirm in an almost whisper. “Yes.”

The two women walked slowly away from the Oak Rooms and in the direction of the crossroads where they could summon a cab. Carol quickened her step so that she may catch the attention of a cab heading up Park Avenue, and extended her arm not quite vertically, giving a half-wave to indicate she was hailing. Her leather glove stuck out in the cold Manhattan air. As the cab pulled up, Carol opened the doors and turned to Therese, half-nodding with her head as if to say, ‘this way darling’. Carol’s encouragement for Therese to follow was tinged with a flicker of insecurity. If Therese did not follow her into the cab, and consequently beyond this evening, Carol wasn’t sure she had the strength to pour her heart out again, like earlier in the evening.

Carol wouldn’t have known that Therese needed no such encouragement to follow her into the cab. Therese wanted to jump into the cab double-quick and ask the driver to transport them away from the crowds and the city streets, as soon as humanly possible. Instead, as Carol held the door open for her to get in, Therese glided past Carol in almost slow motion, breathing in Carol’s perfume as she passed her, which she had near-forgotten in those two dark months. Their eyes caught as Therese nestled into the corner of the cab and Carol sat next to her. Carol motioned to the driver.

“83rd and fifth please.”

Therese’s heart was racing again, like it did earlier in the evening. With every stoplight, with every gear change of the taxi, it took her away from the life she once knew, and toward a new destination, one she didn’t quite know yet. Of course, the evening’s destination was Carol’s apartment on the Upper East Side, but beyond that? Therese’s pulse quickened once more. “What am I doing?” she thought.

The cab journey was silent the whole way back to Carol’s apartment; their hands never touching, instead both clasping the purse on their respective laps. Carol gave the driver the fare plus a generous tip, as was her way. The night had suddenly cooled and they could see their breath as they exhaled. It was a cold New York night.

This part of town felt different to Therese. They had come out of the business end of town and were now in a residential area that Therese would never have expected herself to frequent. As she looked back down the street, Therese stood near the edge of the sidewalk and thought back to her job at Frankenberg’s, where she intended to earn some money over the holidays, and how the customers she served there would probably live in a street similar to this. She thought of Richard, and how he would have hated somewhere like this, instead preferring a Tuscan villa or an apartment overlooking the Seine. The thought of Richard faded quickly as Therese returned to her memory of Frankenberg’s and that chance meeting just before Christmas, and at that moment, she allowed a nostalgic smile to begin across her face. She angled her face toward Carol, returning to the present:

“You live here now?”

“Yes,” Carol took her keys from her purse, “it’s very nice. I’ve been very lucky. Come inside, it’s getting cold.” Carol turned to go inside the building and Therese reached out to stop her, placing a hand on the crook of Carol’s bent arm just enough to catch her. Carol stopped.

“If we go in, I mean, when we go in,” Therese paused, “I, I-“

Carol moved close to Therese, enough for her perfume to envelope her again, and looked directly into Therese’s dark brown eyes, darting from one to the other. Therese frequently would trail off her sentences so much that Carol would have to prompt her into finishing them, so much so that Carol had more than once expressed her frustration at needing to ask what Therese was thinking in order to move on. Sometimes Carol would take the bait, however this time she waited for Therese to muster and finish her sentence.

“I’m not going to ask you what this means if we go up. I already know. I mean, I think I know. But..” Therese’s voice quickened; “I can’t do this if it isn’t real. I mean, if you’re going to change your mind again. Before, I haven’t known what I’ve wanted. This is different, things have changed. I’ve changed. I know what I want now, but I can’t – “

Carol interrupted her flow of speech, having removed a glove and taking Therese’s cold hand in hers.

“I know you’re scared. Don’t be. Come upstairs. I’ll make us some tea.”

Therese had prepared herself to continue her impassioned speech, but somehow the words had fallen from her head the moment Carol clasped her slim hand all at once. Carol led her inside the apartment building and across the art deco lobby. It was late and the porter was nowhere to be seen, but Therese was glad of that as the pair went hand in hand into the elevator and headed to the 3rd floor. Their hands fell back to their sides as they stood whilst the elevator cranked past each floor slowly, purposefully. Carol selected the appropriate key from the bunch, which jangled together as the elevator doors opened onto the 3rd floor. They exited the elevator car and into the hallway, Carol first, leading the way to her new residence. The hallway was nicely decorated, although it had probably been done one too many years ago now. The striped carpet stretched on for what seemed like miles, and the lamps on the walls gave a dim light, as the night had gotten dark. Therese walked behind Carol as they headed to the apartment door, with a sense of nervous apprehension. Several weeks earlier she had shot down Danny at her place when he suggested she might be scared. Therese wasn’t scared to be with Carol, but now, to give her whole self, completely, unashamedly; was she scared now? Therese looked back at the elevator as the doors closed behind her.

The key slid into the lock and with a swift turn, Carol had opened the door and stood against it open, waiting for Therese to follow her inside. Therese remained quiet, taking everything in as she went: the colour, the décor, and the faint trace of Carol’s scent as she transitioned through the doorway into the apartment. Carol closed the door behind Therese and removed her fur coat, hanging it on the brown lacquered coat stand that was nearly full with coats and umbrellas. She extended her hand, offering to take Therese’s.

“Oh thank you” Therese politely responded, removing her coat and placing it in Carol’s hand. In a well-practiced movement, Carol placed Therese’s overcoat next to hers on the rack, and began down the hallway toward the kitchen. “Let’s have some tea, shall we?” She said softly yet assertively, as she always did.

Therese was glad of Carol busying herself in the kitchen so that she may look at the apartment. She moved into the living room and looked around. The colours and fabrics were all new and exquisite, as was Carol’s taste; a satin chaise longue in the corner by the window, elegant candlesticks adorning the mantelpiece above an open fire. Therese was taken with this room; it was warm and inviting, and she could see herself on the couch next to the fire, curled up, a stack of books beside her on the coffee table. The room was large enough to accommodate a dining area too, but not so big that she felt lost. Yes, this room would do very well.

Therese was aware of the sound of the kettle being filled and the stove being fired moments ago, then she became acutely aware that Carol too had come into the living room, removing her stiletto heels at the archway that segwayed the hallway to the living room. Therese turned as Carol approached. She had longed for this moment, to be alone with Carol once more, and although she had retained the ache of a heart once broken until this very moment, it was overtaken by a deeper sense of need. Therese did not wait for Carol to speak. She moved toward her and placed her hands on her delicate face, pulling Carol closer to her until their lips met. Therese felt the rush, the very same rush she experienced on their night together on New Year’s Eve. Neither pulled away. Carol’s hands moved up to Therese’s shoulders and then up to her hair before, in symmetry, softly placing her hands either side of Therese’s face. Therese broke off their kiss. She had started to tear, and her face flushed. She let out a breath.

“I missed you so much. Do you know? Do you know how much I missed you?”

Carol wrapped her long, slender arms around Therese’s petite waist, bringing her in for a warm embrace. Therese choked back a tear as they stood in the middle of the living room. “I can’t change how you’ve felt these last couple of months,” said Carol, “though I wish to God I could”. Therese gathered herself. She wasn’t trying to make Carol feel bad, in fact, Therese wasn’t sure why her near ecstasy at being reunited with her had devolved into this moment. Therese wiped away her tears, shaking her head at what she felt was ridiculousness, looking down at her feet. Carol, who was several inches taller than Therese even without her heels, bent down and cricked her neck slightly to catch Therese’s gaze, tenderly brushing her dark hair away from her face.

“I wanted you to imagine me - imagine us - and the perpetual sunrise, remember?” Carol placed her hands on Therese’s shoulders in front of her; “for you to come to the Oak Rooms tonight, and – and – “ now Carol faltered, which was unlike her. Carol shook her head to compose herself, and Therese looked up at her. “Believe me Therese, I had hoped – wished – this day would come. And….I meant what I said. I love you.” Carol paused. She needed to make herself clear.  
“I love you so very much.”

Therese smiled through her tears and they hugged once more. Therese felt an acceptance, if not complete forgiveness, but she knew in time her heart would forget those awful months since they had been parted and the ache would fade. She leant towards Carol’s ear, and through her golden hair, she whispered “And I love you”, her voice cracking with emotion.

Later that evening, as the fire crackled down to embers, and several drinks had been drunk, the two women curled closely together on the couch, seeking warmth in their proximity to one another. Carol tugged at the red woollen blanket that had covered both of them as they’d sat and talked.

“Stealing the blanket, Miss Belivet?” She joked in a firm but warm tone.

Although earlier in the day Therese had gotten changed for dinner and Phil’s party, her clothes now felt uncomfortable and constrictive. She allowed her mind to wander for a moment.

“Seriously,” Carol scoffed as she attempted to pull a bit more of the blanket around her waist. Carol was sat on the couch with her feet under her, as she so often did when she was in close company. She never sat like this around Harge, he didn’t think much to Carol looking so casual. Carol tugged down on the sleeves of her grey dress. “Is it too cold now? Shall I put another log on the fire?”

Therese looked at the fire, then back at Carol. She shook her head in the negative, half-pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, as if she were weighing up a decision.

“Well,” Carol said, shifting position on the couch, “I don’t know about you but I’m getting cold.”

They had been talking for hours, into the night. Since their kiss in the middle of the living room, they had gone on to drink tea and then whisky, and listened to each other talk about everything that had happened in between Waterloo and tonight, interspersed with the crackling of the fireside. Both had their immense regrets and shared heartache, neither bigger nor worse than the other. Carol spoke about Rindy; how her living with Harge was apparently the best thing for all concerned, and although Therese didn’t voice her opinion, she didn’t share Carol’s view. Now was not the time to talk of Rindy’s living arrangements. But Therese did then begin to wonder what her own living arrangements might be. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Carol continued.

“So no log on the fire, and you don’t want another whisky.” Carol shook her head, “What shall we do?” her voice lifting at the end of the sentence; her eyebrows rose slightly and mouth upturned into a coy smile. Right from the beginning, throughout everything, since the day they met at Frankenberg’s, Carol had been pulling the strings in their relationship. Goodness, how that seemed a lifetime ago. Carol had already lived a half-life; a marriage, a daughter; but she had also been living against her grain. Abby had been the catalyst for a different path, and now Carol was determined to be in control of this path if nothing else. What use was a life if she had to hide from the world. But Therese also was not the same person she was when she manned the desk at the department store; lost, a relative innocent. Therese now knew what she wanted.

Therese got up from the sofa, placing her feet on the ground in front of her and pulled away the blanket that had spread across both of them. She stood half facing Carol, who was still seated, straightened her plaid skirt, and extended her arm down with her palm facing up in a gesture. Carol placed her hand delicately in Therese’s outstretched palm, and raised herself from the sofa with an inquisitive yet knowing expression. Therese wanted to lead. And Carol wanted to follow.

Therese walked in front of Carol and out into the hallway. Carol motioned like she had earlier in the evening, to guide Therese. However this time, Carol was motioning toward the bedroom, and she did not feel the slight burden of doubt or insecurity as she had by the taxi, but rather, a rush of adrenaline. Carol began to feel a sensation near forgotten as Therese led her to her bedroom. Therese had always been petite and girlish, always attractive, but this evening, as she started through the doorway into the bedroom, she looked back at Carol with dark, purposeful eyes and at that moment, Carol remarked to herself, Therese was sensationally beautiful.

They undressed; slowly at first but then quicker, as both moved faster with greater intent, their pulses quickening. They kissed and touched one another, each exploring the other’s body with increasing desire. Although it was familiar, it could have been their first night together all over again; the memories of Waterloo ignited and now a reality again. As they slowed into sensual synchronicity, neither party’s pulse was racing now; they had slowed as lust turned into something deeper. They were together in the moment again, at last, as they always felt it should be. Their hearts had begun to beat in time together again. As the pleasure had subsided, and their hair fell about one another’s soft skin with their bodies closely entwined, Carol wrapped a protective arm around Therese.

“My angel,” Carol half-whispered, looking at Therese square in the face, unflinching, unblinking.

Therese smiled coyly as she did so many times, looking down briefly in almost embarrassment when Carol used to lavish her with attention. She didn’t pretend not to enjoy it though; when Carol looked at Therese, it was if the sun shone down on her, and her alone. Therese brushed Carol’s hair tenderly away from her eyes.

“I never want to be apart from you again” Therese fixed her gaze back into Carol’s blue grey eyes, “Okay?”

“Okay.”


End file.
